Emily Rusca

Policy Director Emily Rusca brings her interest in education, workforce development, and social policy to the team. Since joining the EdSystems team as an Education Pioneers fellow in 2015, Emily’s portfolio has spanned the full breadth of EdSystems’ focus areas, from college and career pathways to data engagement. She leads the team’s state policy portfolio by facilitating interagency and statewide structures, cultivating and managing relationships with state agency partners and fellow policy organizations, exploring national best practices and representing Illinois in cross-state learning opportunities, and collaborating with team members to identify where implementation and innovation work across Illinois can inform new opportunities for effective policy.

Emily previously managed the U.S. State Department-sponsored Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study grant program for a high school exchange nonprofit in San Francisco and has additional background in international development, city planning, and gender equity work. She holds a bachelor’s in international development from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan.